Chase Elliott looked unbeatable during the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, but the playoffs have been a different story. Thankfully for the No. 9 Chevrolet team, Elliott has done just enough at just the right time during the postseason to keep his championship hopes alive.
Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway was one such instance, as Elliott outdueled Ryan Blaney in the final laps to win the YellaWood 500. The victory takes the pressure off Elliott heading into next week’s elimination race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and resurrected the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s hopes of a second Cup title.
Elliott made all the right moves on a late-race restart, thanks to expert guidance by his spotter, Eddie D’Hondt, as heard in the in-car radio call.
Elliott and the No. 9 now cruise into Charlotte to tackle the ROVAL. Given Elliott’s dominance on road courses throughout his career, the championship aspirations that appeared to be on life support a week ago could suddenly be resurrected in a very real way with another good showing.
